Iron type golf clubs are generally used by golfers to hit golf shots from the turf, which means they are designed to hit golf shots that lay directly on the grass itself. Given that the sole of these types of golf club heads are the part of the golf club head that has the most surface area to contact the turf, the design of the sole profile often has a significant impact on the quality of the turf interaction.
U.S. Pat. No. 945,944 to Dalgleish illustrates one of the earlier attempts at improving the performance of the golf club by changing the sole profile. Despite the fact that the invention by Dalgleish was directed more of a “brassies” type wood or fiber golf club head, it illustrated an early recognition of the importance of sole interaction with a golf club and a design intended to improve the performance.
In a more modern context, U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,513 to Swanson illustrates “a golf club iron provided with protuberances or knobs on the bottom sole face thereof to minimize ‘fat’ shots, reduce the size of the divots, and to accommodate tilting of the club head on the turf laterally and in front to rear directions without spoiling the shot.”
U.S. Pat. No. 7,393,286 to Renegar provides an alternative way to adjust the sole of a golf club by providing contours to help the interaction between the golf club and the turf it often comes in contact with.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,471,601 to McCabe et al. provides another illustration wherein the sole of the golf club head is improved for better performance, this time utilizing a crescent surface, a positive bounce surface, a heel surface, and a toe surface.
The present invention improves upon the previously mentioned designs by creating a golf club head wherein the sole contours are carefully designed to improve the performance of the golf club head not only improving full shots; as shown by all the previous examples, but also improving other types of shots. More specifically, the present invention recognizes that a wedge type golf club head may be used to execute a multitude of different golf shots, including but not limited to full shots, flop shots, knock down shots; all of which engage different portions of the sole contour.